What Little Hands Can Do
by the silver hare
Summary: While patrolling one night, Lily and James come across something curious. How does this change their lives? Slow beginning, but gets better.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just so you know, the first two chapters or so will be just showing what kind of relationship Lily and James have and how it came to be. Feel free to skip them; the story should still make sense. **

Lily had had a lot of time to think. After the infamous incident after the OWLs, she had barely spoken to anyone, save her best friends, Alice, Marlene, Mary, and Remus. Severus had tried to apologize but Lily had hexed him every time he had opened his mouth. After a few weeks, he left her alone, but kept up his silent pleas.

James had been more persistent, probably because she had been less violent with him. Whenever he had started to apologize, Lily just looked at him blankly and walked away, as if he just wasn't worth it.

He gave up on the last day of school.

Lily waited all summer for the usual letters from James. She secretly enjoyed them; he always had a good story and could make her laugh. Sometimes she wrote back, but even if she didn't, James always wrote regularly.

This summer, there were no letters.

So Lily had a lot of time to think during the summer before sixth year. She replayed the scene in her head, over and over, analyzing it. By the end of the summer, she had come to the conclusion that only a small part of the outcome had been James' fault. Some had been hers, for not expecting it sooner, but it was mostly Snape's.

Therefore, on September 1st, Lily entered Platform 9 ¾ determined to listen to whatever James had to say, and to avoid Snape at all costs. It turned out Lily had to face the latter first out in the train corridor. Snape grabbed her wrist from behind as Lily made her way to the Prefects' compartment and jerked her to a stop. Lily spun around and her eyes narrowed.

"Let me go," she said fiercely. Snape looked at her pleadingly.

"Lily, please. Just listen to me for a second-"

"No! I don't want to hear what you have to say! You said enough last term, and it's done! So just let me go!" Lily struggled to free herself, but Snape, despite appearances, was stronger than Lily and he seized her other wrist tighter.

"Snape! Let- me-," There was a flash and Snape fell on the floor with tentacles sprouting on his face. Lily turned around and saw James with his wand pointed at Snape. She stepped over Snape's squirming body and moved towards James. He lowered his wand and looked at her concernedly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… thanks," she said with a slight shake in her voice. "He's a lot stronger than he looks."

"Slimy git," James muttered. "Hey, do you think I could talk to you for a second?"

Lily hesitated then remembered her resolve. "Uhm, okay."

They stepped into an empty compartment and faced each other: Lily trying to be open and receptive, and James nervously running his hand through his hair while trying to figure out what to say. He took a deep breath.

"Well, I just wanted to say- since I never got the chance to get it all out last term- that I'm really sorry. I never meant for it to come out that way, and I'm really sorry that it cost you a friend."

Lily gave him a small smile. "Thank you. And… you're not to blame. Most of it is Snape's fault and you just kind of sped up the process of me finding out what he's really like. So, thank you for that."

He let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't irritated. "Do you and your friends want to come and sit with us for the ride? I know Sirius has been fascinated with Marlene lately."

"Yeah, that would be fun. I have to go to the Prefect meeting first, but we'll come by afterwards, is that okay?" Lily asked.

James brightened. "Sure, we'll be waiting."

They smiled at each other and Lily left for the Prefect meeting.

After that, Lily and James were friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own a Ravenclaw lanyard with a Hermione Lego keychain, but not Harry Potter.**

**Lily,**

**You can't imagine how irritatingly boring it is here. Sirius has decided that the reason his hair didn't have its usual bounce was because the wind messed it up when he flew. So now all he does is sit around, eat, and figure out new ways to scorch my eyebrows off. Remus has only come around a few times and Peter has all but disappeared. We think he went into hiding, even though he's a half-blood and has nothing to worry about. But that's Peter. Always worrying even when there's nothing to worry about. You'd think he'd be a wart instead of a rat. (Get it? Worrywart? Ha ha.) I wish you could come 'round, but I guess that's out of the question with your sister's wedding plans and all. I'm still amazed that she found someone so equally as repulsive as her to love. Are you sure you didn't slip some love potion in their drinks so you can be rid of her? I wouldn't put it past you, Evans. Maybe Sirius and I have been too much of an influence on you….**

**Wishing you were here, James**

_James, _

_No, I did not put Amortentia in either of their drinks. It must be an animal attraction, seeing as she's a horse and he's a whale. It's quite disgusting seeing him eat. Imagine Sirius if you told him it was his last meal for sixty years and he could eat anything he wanted for fifteen minutes. Horrifying, right? One time, I left the table and a full plate for a minute, and when I got back, the plate was absolutely clean, as if I'd never gotten any food! So I reached for more, but Vernon the whale scoops the rest on to his plate! It's come to that I have to get food early in the morning for the whole day and hide it in my room. Luckily, he thinks if he comes into my room, he'll turn into a toad or something. _

_I wish I could come 'round too, but Mum and Petunia are shoving wedding plans down my throat every second. Also, Petunia has taken it upon herself that because Mum is making her include me in the wedding party, I will look absolutely horrid and be as uncomfortable as possible. For example, my bridesmaids dress: Bubble gum pink with giant puffs for sleeves and a diameter wider than my arm span. So picture short, frail, ginger me in a sickening pink dress with shoulder puffs for sleeves so big I can't really put my arms down and a skirt so big I will be knocking people and chairs over as I attempt to walk down the aisle. It's going to be terrible, James._

_But here I am, moping on about myself. How is everyone there? Have you guys tried to contact Peter? What if he was captured? And don't even say I'm turning into a worrywart too, I'm just concerned. You should probably talk to Sirius too, you __know__ that he eats excessively when he's nervous; don't you remember the train ride to Hogwarts at the beginning of sixth year? His mouth was full the whole time. Make sure he's okay and take care of yourself too. One of the only things keeping me from devouring my own eyes here is the anticipation of whatever Marauder Mischief you have planned._

_Missing you and sending all my love, Lily_

**Lily, **

**Well, we can't have you missing those pretty little eyes, now can we? Maybe I can come down there sometime and sneak you out of the house. I talked to Sirius, and he says he can just feel something bad is coming. I told him not to worry, and everything would be fine, but he didn't seem to be listening. It's probably nothing bad; he wasn't acting like it was going to result in death or something. Other than the eating and a twitch every now and then, he seems fine. I'm kind of worried it has something to do with Peter, though. Remus says not to worry and that they're probably on holiday or something because when we went to his house a few days ago, no one was home. I'm sure he'll be fine though, so there's no need to worry and you can stop biting your bottom lip as you read this. Also, you do know you're going to have to send me a picture of you in the bridesmaid dress, right? I feel truly sorry for you, but the only thing people will be laughing at is a horse in a white dress try and make its way down the aisle. I'm positive you'll still be the prettiest one there, even in that ridiculous dress. Remus is coming 'round for a few days and we were going to invite a few other people too; maybe you could sneak away?**

**Love, James**

_James,_

_No, you will not be getting a picture of me, and yes, I can come next week as long as I'm not subject to any pranks. Petunia's wedding is on Thursday, so I am free to escape on Friday. You can't even imagine what kind of a terror she's been. So far, there have been three temper tantrums just this morning. My boggart has officially transformed into her 'bride-to-be' state. She actually wanted me to change my hair color so she wouldn't have "some disgusting clown headed freak" in the pictures. Oh, how I wish I could use magic on her, but that would probably make Mum mad._

_I'm glad you went to find Peter, though. And in spite of what you say, I don't think Peter going missing and Sirius having the feeling is a coincidence. Of course, he is a rat, so he may just be taking a break in his rat form. Oh, well. I hear Petunia screaming and Mum calling, so I'd better cut this short._

_See you next week, Lily_

**Lily,**

**Once again, I swear that cream puff was meant for Sirius. I honestly had no idea you'd actually beat him to it. You have permission to hex me again, not that you've ever needed it. But last week was fun; we should meet up in Diagon Alley again. I can't believe summer's almost over. Pretty soon, we'll be getting our Hogwarts letters, yours heavy with the Head Girl badge and mine full with promises of a new year and 'Marauder Mischief' as you would say. Really, how do you come up with that stuff? Ah, well. It's pretty quiet around here; Sirius has gone back to his moody self. It probably won't go away until whatever bad thing it is happens, either. I've tried making moderately bad things happen, too, hoping that he'll think that was what the feeling was about, but he claims that he'll "feel it when it happens". He'll feel my wand down his throat if he doesn't give this up soon. At least Remus is here to lighten up the mood. Speaking of, we're about to go play Quidditch, so I should go and get my gear. See you in Diagon Alley!**

**Love, James**

_James! _

_You were right! I'm Head Girl! Oh my Merlin, I can't believe it! I'M HEAD GIRL! Wow, after all those years of dreaming and wishing for it, it's actually mine and no one can take it from me! Oh, I'm so happy! It took me awhile to sit still long enough for me to write this; I was actually dancing around my room, if you can believe it. You're the first one I'm writing to, too, so you should feel even more special than usual. I just can't believe I'm Head Girl! I'M HEAD GIRL! _

_Love, Head Girl Lily (I just love writing that)_

**Lils,**

**I'm Head Boy. Merlin's beard. Head Boy. The words… they just keep floating around in my head. Sirius keeps going back and forth between laughing hysterically and lying on the floor moaning. He swears this is what the feeling was about. I'm Head Boy. I'll have to be all… responsible now, won't I? Do you think I'll have to turn in all my assignments now? Oh, this is just terrible. What was Dumbledore thinking, making me Head Boy? Maybe I got somebody else's letter… No, here's my name on the envelope, the letter, and even the badge. Wow. James Potter: Head Boy. I like 'James Potter: Marauder' better.**

**MERLIN'S BEARD LILY, I'M HEAD BOY!**

**Dumbledore must have lost it.**

**Seriously freaked out, James**

**A/N: This chapter was extremely boring to write. The only thing that I like about it is the last letter, which was the base for this whole chapter. The next one will be more entertaining, promise. **


	3. Chapter 3

Lily walked through the train corridor towards the Heads' compartment, looking for James. She stepped inside the compartment and looked out the window to see him with the other Marauders, laughing. She knocked on the window and motioned for James to come inside when they looked up. James gave her a large smile and nodded. Sirius rolled his eyes and said something to which James hit him. Lily rolled her eyes as well and sat down in one of the comfy chairs next to the table. She looked over a checklist of everything they had to go over with the Prefects while she waited for James. He bounded in a few minutes later with a big smile in his face.

"James!" Lily said as she stood up.

"Lily!" he exclaimed and scooped her up in a bear hug, spinning them around. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too!" she laughed. "Can you put me down?"

"Oh, right," James set her down gently but remained bouncing slightly on the spot, clearly excited. "So, do we have to do anything to get ready for the Prefects?"

"Not really. Dumbledore left us a list of things we have to go over with the prefects," she held up the list, "and since you don't really know the stuff, I can handle that. So all you have to do is give a little speech at the beginning, just welcoming them and everything. Is that good?"

James nodded happily and offered her his arm, "Shall we?"  
Lily smiled and took it. "We shall."

They opened the Prefect compartment door and were met with confused faces. Lily just smiled at them and took one of the bigger chairs at the front while James stood in front of the Prefects.

"Um, hey Prefects! Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, Dumbledore finally lost it and made me Head Boy."

There was some scattered laughter and a few quiet groans as most of the prefects handed over galleons, sickles, and knuts to Ravenclaw sixth year Matthew Boot. James looked to Lily in confusion and saw that she too had given Matthew a sickle.

"Every year, prefects take bets on who will be Head Boy and Girl," she explained. Matthew looked up and grinned.

"Except this year, we only bet on Head Boy. It was pretty obvious who would get Head Girl this year and no one was stupid enough to bet against her," He winked at Lily and she smiled in return. "I was the only one to bet on you, James, and now I am a very rich man. Rich enough for a date, eh Lily?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes with a smile. "I've told you before, Matthew, I don't date Gemini's."

James' eyes narrowed at the Ravenclaw and saw that he was still smiling charmingly at Lily. So he'd been asking Lily out, had he? And why was he all happy? Lily had just turned him down! He didn't deserve her! Lily nudged James with her toe and he snapped back to reality to finish the speech.

"Well, anyway, I'm Head Boy, Lily's Head Girl, and if we just get along and have House unity and all that, I'm sure we'll have a great year. Popcorn Lily!" She rolled her eyes and stood up as he sat in the other larger chair next to hers, grinning.

"Alright, I'll try and make this quick," Lily said, looking down at her papers. "First on the list- patrols. Just to make it easier, you'll patrol with the person in your House and year. If you have a problem with that, just see James or me. We also have three balls and the Halloween feast to organize this year, and we would love your input on those. And lastly, please do not abuse your power. Only provide punishments to those breaking the rules, not because they annoy you. So, I think that's everything," she said, looking back at James who nodded. "Remember to patrol the train at least once today. You guys can go."

The prefects dispersed quickly and James and Lily were left alone. She gathered up all the papers and James stood when she was done.

"You want to go find our friends or patrol first?" he asked as they stepped out of the compartment. Lily waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh, we don't have to patrol. The prefects have it covered and nothing huge ever really happens. Let's just go find the guys and I'm sure the others will be there. Do you know where they are?"

"Probably in our usual compartment. Come on, we'll find them," He offered her his arm again and they set out to find them compartment.

As they neared the compartment, Lily and James heard yells and then a bang, followed by a scream. Whipping out their wands, they ran towards the commotion and James flung open the door.

Sirius was standing stock still in the middle of the compartment with an electric blue Mohawk, fuming, while six Gryffindors were falling over each other, laughing. Lily bit her lip hard to try and keep from laughing as James walked up to Sirius, barely hiding his smile.

"Did something happen, Padfoot?" James asked, his voice quavering from the laughter threatening to erupt.

But Sirius didn't move. In fact, the only thing that changed in him was that perhaps his glaring intensified.

"We put- petrificus- totalus- on him," Remus managed to choke out between fits of laugher.

"He screams like a girl!" Marlene cried. At that, Lily and James lost it. They doubled over in laughter and had to cling to each other to stand. James fell against Sirius' legs and pulled Lily down with him, into his lap.

Several minutes later, everyone got their laughter under control and James moved to sit against the wall, Lily still in his lap. Remus looked over to the still frozen Sirius and smirked.

"Do you think we should take the jinx off?" he asked.

"Yeah, probably," James flicked his wand and Sirius spun to face Remus.

"You're going to get it, Lupin," he said in a sinister voice. "Change. It. Back."

"Padfoot, calm down," James said in a soothing voice. "I'm sure he really-"

"And you!" he yelled, advancing on James and Lily. Lily shrank back into James and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. "You two just sit there and laugh! Change it back!"

Lily slowly pulled her wand out and changed Sirius' hair back to normal while trying to suppress giggles. He stuck his tongue out at them and plopped down in his seat, pouting. Lily giggled and rested her head in the crook of James' neck. He smiled softly and started to trace designs on her arms.

"So anyone hear about Puddlemere United's last game?" Frank shuddered.

"No, what happened?" Lily asked.

James groaned. "It was brutal- and not in a good way. The game went on for five hours and we scored twenty points. Didn't even catch the snitch. The Appleby Arrows won with seven hundred and thirty points by the end of the game. Just… terrible."

"Yeah, well, I guess you need to start supporting the better team," Remus said with a grin.

"The Appleby Arrows are NOT the better team!" James exclaimed.

"Exactly!" Marlene said, pointing to James. "It's the Wimbourne Wasps!"

Everyone gaped at her.

"You've GOT to be joking," Sirius said loudly.

"No, I'm not, actually. They're having a great year!" Marlene defended them.

"Yeah, their first good year in a century," James pointed out. "That doesn't make them a good team."

"And you just like them because Ludo Bagman's on the team," Lily teased her. "Do you still have that autographed poster of him?"

Marlene glared at her. "I have that because it's valuable! At least I don't have a picture of-" Lily flicked her wand hurriedly and Marlene fell silent.

Sirius looked at Lily slyly. "Picture of what, Lily?"

James leaned in so his lips were brushing her ear. "Yeah, Lily… what's the picture of?"

Chills went down her spine as she felt his breath on her ear. Marlene had about to say that there was a picture of Lily and James by the lake on her bedside table.

"Alright, Lily how about this? I'll tell you what picture James has-"

"NO, Padfoot!" James yelled.

"You know, guys, it's not good to keep secrets," Alice said, knowing from Frank that James had the same picture on his bedside table.

Lily sighed. "Alice, shut up."

Everyone had fallen asleep except for James, who was staring at the beautiful ginger curled up in his lap. Ever since they had become friends, he had resisted the urge to ask her out. It was extremely hard at times to contain his feelings when she snuggled up next to him like this. They had held hands before, and this wasn't the first time she had sat in his lap, but it had all been in a friendly way. He'd thought about forgetting all pretenses and games and just kissing her, but Remus said the consequences probably wouldn't be good. James felt Lily stir and he rubbed her arms affectionately.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

She looked up and smiled sleepily. "Yeah, well, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Really? And why is that?"

"Oh, just excited. Eager to see everybody… the usual night before school excitement."

James chuckled and saw someone standing in front of their compartment door, looking at them. He and Lily looked up to see Snape glaring at them through the glass. James made to get up, forgetting that Lily was still in his lap, but she laid her hand on his and got up herself. She opened the door and stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Do you need something, Snape?"

"What are you doing with him?" Severus hissed.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Lily said coolly.

"You know exactly what I mean! You were sitting in there with- with-"

"My best friend? Because that's what James is, and nothing less. And that's what I was doing in there, talking with my best friend, James Potter, and I don't see why you have a problem with that," Lily spat.

"You were sitting on his lap!" he yelled. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"It's a comfortable place," she said simply, shutting the door in his face and pulling down the blinds.

"So when do you think the trolley's coming 'round?" she asked James, leaning against the door.

"FOOD!" Sirius yelled, sitting up immediately. Everyone that was asleep jerked awake and glared at Sirius. He sniffed the air.

"The trolley's in the middle of the next car and moving this way," Sirius said sleepily. The girls looked at him in wonder.

"How can you _tell_?" Mary asked incredulously. Sirius shrugged.

"I know my food."

A few minutes passed in silence and Lily, Alice, Marlene, and Mary left to change. On their way back, a bubbly Hufflepuff came up to them.

"Oh my gosh, Lily, congratulations!" she squealed.

"Aw, thanks, Anna," Lily said kindly.

"That is just so amazing; you're Head Girl and dating James Potter! You're just so lucky!"

Lily looked at her confusedly. "What? I'm not dating James. He's like my best friend."

"Oh, well, you guys were looking pretty cuddly back there…" Anna giggled.

"We're not dating," Lily said firmly. She pushed past her and continued to their compartment.

"Don't you just hate her voice? It's so high pitched and shrilly. It's like a pig is being tortured," Marlene remarked distastefully.

Alice rolled her eyes. "You just don't like her because Sirius took a fancy to her last year. Despite the voice that makes you want to put knives in your ears, she's actually a nice person. Right, Lily?"

But Lily didn't answer. _Does it really look like James and I are together? I don't even think I like him that way… Do I?_

They arrived at the compartment once more and walked in. James was sitting in a seat and held his arms out to Lily when she entered. However, she passed him and sat in the corner with her eyes downcast instead. James looked at her in confusion, but Alice shook her head for him to leave it alone, realizing what the problem was immediately. He didn't say anything, but looked at her concernedly. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I'm fine, okay?" she hissed, looking up at him. James captured Lily's eyes with his own and they both melted.

"LILYFLOWER!" Sirius yelled, sitting down and putting his arm around her, breaking the Head Boy and Girl from their trance.

"Oh, how I've missed you so! It just wasn't the same seeing Jamsie-poo's face every day without your beautiful face there to make him look prettier!" His voice dropped down to a stage whisper. "Did you know that without your angelic glow to fall upon him he actually looks like a troll?"

Lily laughed. "Yes, Sirius, I did have my suspicions. Basically, I pictured him looking like you."

A playful "Ooooh" came from everyone in the compartment.

"Yeah, well, I'm prettier than your mum!"

"Oh, Sirius, I'm glad you've finally come to realize that you are girly. I've always said the time spent on your hair is unhealthy."

"My hair is gorgeous, Evans!"

"I wouldn't say gorgeous, more… greasy. I think that's why it's shiny."

"You look like Christmas on a stick!"

"All those girls were faking it!"

Sirius let out a gasp of horror as Peter yelled, "Burn!"

He threw a glare at the round boy and struggled for a new insult. "You- you're-"

"The person who just won?"

He hung his head in defeat. "Truce?"

"Hmm…. No. I won."

James laughed at the two. It was amazing how they could say the worst things and still be good friends.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Fine."

Lily smirked and stared up at him. "Nope. You have to officially declare me winner of this battle. If not, it's back to the Mohawk."

He groaned and stood up as Lily settled herself back against the seat.

"Oh, Lilyflower," he said in monotone. "How smart you are. The sun rises for you and you are the reason we all wake in the morning. You are ultimately more stunning than I am. Your hair is like angels spun it from… something red. It is a pleasure to look at you with your…" He trailed off and eyed her. Lily gripped her wand and James kicked him. Sirius shook his head. "Anyway you're better than me. Hey look, food!"

He ran out of the compartment and began to harass the candy lady for her best items. Remus, Alice, Marlene, Frank, Mary, and Peter followed him out, leaving James and Lily alone. James moved to sit next to her and Lily looked out the window.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

_No. People think we're going out and I've only just begun to process that I might like you more than a best friend. It's kind of freaking me out. _

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, standing up. "You hungry?"

"No, not really," James ran his hand through his hair and watched her leave.

"PRONGSIE!" Sirius barreled back in, arms full of sweets. He sat on the floor, spread all the candy out around him and began to eat.

"So what's up with you and Lily?" Sirius asked while unwrapping a Pepper Imp.

James sighed and grabbed a Chocolate Frog. "I don't know. She says we're best friends, but then when she sits on my lap and everything, it seems like she wants something more. And then she got back from changing, she was all distant! I don't see why she just can't tell me what she wants. It's too bloody confusing."

Sirius nodded wisely and popped a Cockroach Cluster in his mouth. "I think she likes you, mate. Have you ever seen her act like that with another guy? No. Maybe she just doesn't realize it yet."

"Maybe," he said quietly, watching Lily accept a handful of Chocolate Frogs and a box of Bertie Bott's from the candy lady.

"Do you still like Marlene?" he asked Sirius abruptly. He swallowed another Pepper Imp hastily and looked at James.

"What?"

"I was just wondering if you liked Marlene. I think she might like you," As if on cue, Marlene looked through the glass door at them and smirked at Sirius. He wiggled his eyebrows in return. She rolled her eyes and looked away and Sirius turned back to James.

"I don't know. Isn't she with that Corner bloke?"

"No, Lily said they broke up at the end of the summer. So you, my friend, have a clear path," James grinned as Sirius thought this over.

All of a sudden, the grey eyed Gryffindor stood up and went out to where the others were crowded around the candy cart. Sirius swept Marlene into a passionate and vivid kiss, much to the disgust of everyone else. Lily and Remus shook their heads and went back into the compartment with Peter.

"At least Frank and Alice found someplace private to snog," Lily grumbled.

James laughed and took another Chocolate Frog from Sirius' stash. "Where'd Mary go?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "She went to go flirt with some Hufflepuff she likes."

Remus looked into the hall and saw that Sirius and Marlene finally broke apart and he was asking her something. She thought for a second and then nodded indifferently. He kissed her again and they walked into the compartment, sitting on opposite sides. Lily and James looked at their respective friends.

"I like her," Sirius shrugged.

"We're going to Hogsmeade together," Marlene said, looking at her nails.

James and Lily smiled at each other: they had suspected of their friends' feelings for each other.

"Hey, I can see Hogwarts!" Peter squeaked. Everyone ran to the window to catch their first last glimpse of Hogwarts.

**A/N: Ah, another chapter. I might be able to finish writing chapter four tonight; I'll probably be snowed in all weekend. Remember to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own a Lego Quiddditch pitch, but not Harry Potter or the songs mentioned in this chapter :)**

Remus, Lily, James, Sirius, and Marlene got settled into a carriage after the boys insisted on taking their things for them. Marlene and Lily sat on one side and Marlene whispered in Lily's ear.

"You're going to have to talk to him, Lily."

"Not now," Lily hissed.

"Where's Wormy?" James wondered as the carriage started to move.

"I don't know, he kind of disappeared when the train stopped," Remus said, peering outside.

Lily looked outside as well. Scanning the edge of the Forbidden Forest, she saw a dark figure standing there, seemingly looking at the five Gryffindors.

"Who is that?" she asked, staring at the dark figure. James turned around fast and Lily blinked.

"Who?" Lily searched for the spot where she had seen the figure, but it was gone.

"I thought I saw... Nothing," Everyone was loking at her now. "Uh... so what prank do you guys have planned for tonight?" Lily asked, trying to change the subject. It worked, and the Marauders grinned mischievously at each other.

"Now, Lilyflower, you know we can't divulge our secrets," James teased her.

"Just make sure you don't eat anything chocolate," Remus advised.

"Moony! You just ruined it!" Sirius whined.

"No, I didn't I told two people what not to eat so they wouldn't be subject to it."

"And it's not like we're going to tell the whole school not to eat chocolate," Marlene pointed out.

"Come on, Pads, it's fine," James said bracingly. "Last Marauder Welcome Back prank! Get pumped!"

"Yeah!" Sirius yelled, standing up and facing the carriages behind them. "MARAUDERS '78!"

Most people looked at him curiously, but there were a few scattered cheers from fellow seventh years.

"Sirius, sit down," Marlene said, rolling her eyes. He turned around and acted as though he just realized she was there.

"Oh, Marlene, my love!" he exclaimed, dropping to his knees before her. "Run away with me! Run away with me and you won't have a care in the world!"

"Alright. But only to the front door," She grabbed his hand as the carriage stopped and they ran towards the castle together.

Lily and James stood up at the same time and he helped her from the carriage. He offered her his arm and said in what he thought was a gentlemanly voice, "Milady?"

She smiled at him and accepted it. "Coming, Remus?" she called over her shoulder. He came up next to them and Lily grabbed his arm as well on her other side. The threesome started to the castle only to be stopped by Sirius running back out of it, dragging Marlene behind him.

"WAIT!" He came to a stop in front of them. "We have to walk in together! Look, there's Frank, Alice, and Mary! Come on, guys!"

They all laughed and the eight Gryffindors linked arms, with Marlene and Sirius attatching themselves to Remus' other side. In they walked, arm in arm, the ones everyone looked up to: James next to Lily, who was next to Remus, next to Marlene, who was next to Sirius, next tp Mary, next to Alice, who was next to Frank.

"We should sing a song," Lily mused.

In unison, James and Sirius drawled out at the top of their lungs, "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS! WE KEEP ON FIGHTING 'TILL THE END!"

By the time the last of the students entered the Great Hall, James, Sirius, and Remus had gotten everyone at the Gryffindor table and most of the half-bloods and muggleborns at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables singing, stomping, and clapping to "We Will Rock You." Even Professor Dumbledore was tapping his toes and clapping along with the students. As they reached the end of the chorus, Dumbledore stood up and held his arms out for silence. James, Sirius, and Remus jumped down from the table and looked up at him, grinning.

"Well, as lovely as that music was," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at the boys as they stood up to accept the cheers from the other students, "and I am deeply sorrowed that spontaneous concerts like these are now numbered, I believe that Professor McGonagall is waiting with those terrified first years. So, let us hold our music in and welcome the new additions to your Houses." Dumbledore sat back down as McGonagall led the first years in. Lily rested her head on James' shoulder, bored, and he started to play with her hair.

"You smell like strawberries," he whispered in her ear. She giggled.

"Just as long as it's not chocolate."

James rolled his eyes. "Just you wait."

The Sorting Hat finished its song and the names started.

"Abercrombie, Seth!"

"Oi, Prongs," Sirius whispered. "Since you're Head Boy, can we use the first years instead of Bludgers?"

James hesitated, thinking, and Lily raised her head from his shoulder.

"No, you cannot! Sirius, what the hell is wrong with you?" Lily hissed, outraged.

"Well," he started, smiling cheekily.

"Sirius," Marlene said, rolling her eyes, "don't."

"Oh, Marlene! Don't you want to hear my beautiful voice?" Sirius asked dramatically, getting louder with every word. "I thought you loved me, Marlene! Why? Why?"

He was nearly shouting now and half the Hall was looking at him, not even paying attention to the Sorting now.

"I thought all of you were my friends! Why the laughter? Why must you always silence my golden voice?" Everyone around Sirius was attempting not to laugh and trying to avoid the menacing glares from McGonagall.

"Woe is me! I shall never be loved-"

"MR. BLACK!" McGonagall had fully stopped the Sorting and was staring Sirius down, nostrils flared.

"But Minnie, I've already been Sorted!" Sirius yelled.

"Sit down!" she commanded. "And if this is your idea of a start-of-term prank, I am terribly disappointed in all of you!" She looked back down at the list of first years irritably. "TONKS, NYMPHADORA!"

"Hey, that's my cousin!" said Sirius excitedly. "Don't worry, one of the good ones," he said in response to the others' wary faces.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Ah, I guess that's okay," Sirius yelled over the cheers.

"Oh, she's so cute!" said Lily while she watched Tonks' bright pink pigtails bounce as she walked to the Hufflepuff table happily.

"Yeah, she's adorable," Sirius agreed. "One time at Christmas she turned completely green. Aunt 'Dormeda was so mad," he laughed.

"She's a Metamorphmagus?" Lily asked.

Sirius nodded "A really good one too," His eyes widened happily as food appeared on the table. "Yay, food!"

He started grabbing all the food around him and James laughed at him. "Padfoot, slow down. Aren't you forgetting something?"

Sirius swallowed hastily and pulled out his wand. "Oh, yeah! Ready, Moony, Wormtail?"

The four waved their wands in the air discreetly.

"What did you guys do?" Alice asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," they chorused.

"When does it take effect?" Lily whispered to Remus.

"Right before Dumbledore dismisses us," he responded. "That way most everybody will have eaten chocolate and it will have a massive effect."

The rest of the feast passed as peacefully as it could be with Sirius and James while the Marauders, Lily, and Marlene carefully avoided anything chocolate. When Dumbledore stood up, the Marauders twitched their wands again. As Dumbledore opened his mouth, most of the teachers and students turned into what resembled small pink fairies. They rose up towards the ceiling, leaving the tables mostly empty, except for a few Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, the Marauders, Lily, Marlene, and Dumbledore. The latter had learned a long time ago to cast protection charms on himself whenever the boys waved their wands.

The fairylike Hogwartians were now arranging themselves in the air and spelled out, "Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, final year! 1978!"

"Smile!" Sirius yelled and there was a flash as he took a picture of the pink message. James waved his wand and the House banners were replaced with replicas of the picture. Remus pointed his wand to those in the sky and they flew back to their seats, completely normal, except for the Slytherins, who remained pink.

While everyone was settling back into their seats, there were a few glares towards the Gryffindors that had not been affected, but once the pictures were noticed, laughter and applause filled the Hall.

Dumbledore was smiling merrily and waited until silence came once more. "Why, Mr. Potter, Mr, Black, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew, that was truly extroadinary magic. Five points to the each of you. Professor McGonagall, please don't be too hard on them. Well, off to bed, all of you!"

James and Sirius grabbed Lily and Marlene's hands and ran out of the Great Hall with Remus and Peter behind them, for McGonagall was striding towards them, nostrils flared and still looking a little pink.

As they reached the fifth floor corridor, James and Lily ran towards the Heads' dorm, calling over their shoulders, "See you tomorrow!"

They came to a portrait of a girl about nine, with long wavy brown hair and a red sundress with a puppy in her lap. Upon noticing the Head Boy and Girl, she put the puppy on the grass next to her and stood up.

"Hi! You're James Potter and Lily Evans, right? Dumbledore told me about you. I'm Isabella. Do you know the password?" She gave them a big smile and looked at them with bright brown eyes.

"Oh, yes, I have it here..." Lily rummaged in her pockets for one of the papers Dumbledore had left on the train. She finally pulled it out. "Here. Buttercup."

"Right! Have fun!" Isabella's portrait swung forward and Lily and James walked into the common room.

"Wow," they said together.

It was Gryffindor scarlet, with gold trimmings. Two staircases ran along opposite sides of the circular room and led to a small landing which had three doors. There was a large fluffy couch and two squashy armchairs on either side of a glossy wooden coffee table, all of which was in front of a huge marble fireplace that was on the same wall as the portrait hole. Above the mantle, there was a big portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. Behind the couch was a narrow table with picture frames somehow already filled with pictures of their friends and family.

There was a door on the other side of the room, between the two staircases, under the landing. Lily walked to it and opened the door. She gasped. Inside, the walls were lined with books from ceiling to floor. There were two polished wooden desks in the middle of the room.

"James," Lily breathed. He appeared behind her and looked in.

"Impressive," he commented. "Do you want to look at our rooms?"

"Oooh, yes!" They ran up the stairs and walked through the left door, which said, "Head Girl."

The room was light and airy, with blue walls and a white ceiling. All of the furniture was white and there was a large canopy bed with a royal blue comforter. Lily pulled open the walk-in closet door while James looked at the white vanity and fluffy gold chair next to it. Lily kicked off her shoes and felt the soft blue carpet between the toes as her eyes were drawn o the yellow dasies in the center of the room.

"Lily, let's look at my room!" James whined. She rolled her eyes.

"What about the bathroom? I think it's through here," Lily opened the door on the other side of the vanity and saw the bathroom.

There was a door directly on the other side of the room which Lily assumed led to James' room. Another door was between two sinks to their right. To the left, there was a large golden tub to match the yellow walls, a spacious shower with glass walls, and a toilet off in a secluded corner. Two long red rugs defined the 'T' shape of the room and matched the towels lining the walls. Lily ran her hand along the smooth counter on her side and looked into the big mirror over her sink.

"Lily, I wanna see my room!" James whined.

"Fine, go!" she said exasperatedly and he ran through his door. "Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm taking care of a child."

Lily followed him into his room and saw that it was darker than hers. The walls were scarlet, with faint grey designs on them, like the common room. The furniture and floor were a nice cherry wood and had an antique feel to them. James' comforter was also scarlet with gold trimmings and matched the rug in the middle of the floor. The room screamed Gryffindor pride. There were two large windows on the wall opposite the common room door and moonlight fell upon the large bed, which was on the same wall as the bathroom door. A large closet and dresser faced the bed and nightstand and there was a small bookcase next to the common room door. It was a nice room and very James.

"Neat," Lily said to James, who had taken one look at the room and collapsed on the bed.

"I love being Head Boy," he sighed.

Lily laughed. "Well, good night, Head Boy Potter."

He grinned at her. "Good night Head Girl Evans!" he called as she walked back through that bathroom and into her room.

Lily walked to her trunk at the foot of the bed and opened it. On top was the picture of her and James that Marlene and Alice had talked about on the train. She walked across the room to put it on her dresser, pausing to smell the yellow daisies on the small white table in the middle of the room. Lily continued to unpack her trunk, putting her uniform and fancier things in the closet, pajamas in the dresser, and makeup on the vanity, giving the room a homier feel.

When she put the last of her schoolbooks on the nearly full bookcases on the wall, Lily pulled on her comfiest pajamas and crawled into the warm bed.

On the other side of the bathroom, James got up and opened his trunk. He pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and hung it on a peg next to his bed. James then took out the small mirror that matched Sirius' and put it on his bedside table. Going back to his trunk one last time, he pulled out the same picture Lily had put on her dresser minutes before and placed it on his bedside table in front of the mirror. Stripping down to his undershirt and boxers, James crawled into bed and stared at the picture. He'd unpack everything else later; right now the picture was all he needed.

**A/N: Oh, my computer's annoying me. Microsoft Office Word has decided to lock all of my documents so I can't make any changes to them, so I had to switch to WordPad. So, sorry for any grammar mistakes, WordPad doesn't have spellcheck. Enough with my ranting, hope you like the story so far and review!**

**PS: Since WordPad doesn't let me put in page breaks, they will now be represented with the ninja QK**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed/favorited and thanks to my friend Toshav, who bugs me everyday in Spanish if I've finished writing yet and who pushed me to finish typing this up :)**

**Disclaimer: I own a Ravenclaw crest shirt, but not Harry Potter :(**

It was a week into school and everyone had settled into their routine. Lily would wake up, attempt to wake up James, get dressed, wake up James once more, do her hair and face, and pour water on James' head before he finally got up. The Gryffindor girls had trouble adjusting to not having Lily there at first, as she was the sole reason they got to breakfast on time, until Remus took pity on them and gave the girls an alarm clock that couldn't break no matter how much damage you did to it, as Sirius had proved after Remus got him one Christmas of first year. The Gryffindor boys' dorm didn't change much, except that it was reasonably quieter. Lily and James settled into the Heads' dorm nicely and most nights you could find the seventh year Gryffindors lounging in front of the fire in the Heads' common room, annoying and amusing each other to wits end.

So that's why it was perfectly normal when Dumbledore walked up to the seventh year Gryffindors to see that a bowl of marmalade had been dumped on Sirus' head and Marlene was trying to calm him down while attempting to clear his hair.

"Really, Sirius, it's just marmalade, and I can get it out-" she was saying. Dumbledore chuckled lightly.

"You know, Ms. McKinnon, I believe a simple cleaning spell would work," he said, smiling. She blushed and pulled out her wand. The marmalade vanished and Sirius flicked a bit of toast at Peter.

"Wonderful. Now, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, I was wondering if you could meet me in my office about ten minutes before your first class; I have something of importance to discuss with you," James and Lily nodded quickly and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Excellent. See you then."

Alice waited until the professor was gone before asking, "What do you think he wants?"

Lily shrugged and looked at James. "Probably something Head related. That stuff _is_ pretty important."

Sirius scoffed. "How? You get a fancy dorm, and you can take points away and give detention. Not that special."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Our job is to ensure the safety of the students and be an example. If James and I weren't on a level of importance, who else would the younger students look up to? _You?_"

"And what's so wrong with having me as a role model?" he asked, slightly offended. "I'm much better looking than that pansy!"

"Oi!" James said. "I look _way _better than you!"

"Well, we all know you guys are wrong, because I'm the sexiest out of all of you," Remus said with an air of finality.

"Ha!" James and Sirius said in unison. "What do you girls think?"

Lily, Alice, Marlene, and Mary looked at each other, having a silent conversation. They turned and looked the boys up and down, then looked back at each other.

"Frank," they chorused.

The Marauders' jaws dropped and Alice kissed Frank's cheeck, who was smiling smugly.

Sirius glared at them all then grabbed Marlene's hand and pulled her out of the Great Hall.

"Where is he taking her?" Lily asked. James rolled his eyes.

"He's probably taking her to a broom closet to show that he's 'the sexiest of us all.'"

"I shudder to think what they're doing in there," said Mary, wrinkling her nose.

Lily laughed and looked at her watch. "Oh, we'd better go, James, it's fifteen 'till."

James stuffed the rest of his waffle in his mouth and grabbed his bag.

"See you in Charms!" Remus called as Lily and James left the Hall.

"Do you really think it's Head stuff?" James asked her as they climbed the stairs.

"I don't know. We were the only ones he asked; what else could it be?"

They turned into the corridor that led to Dumbledore's office and he looked sideways at her. "Maybe we're being chosen for a super secret mission or something."

Lily rolled her eyes but a smile played at her lips. "Yes, I'm sure that's it. Sugar quills," she said to the stone gargoyle and it jumped aside.

"But it could be," James persisted. "We are the best witch and wizard in the school."

"Exactly. We're still in school. No matter how talented we are, we're still in school. Dumbledore wouldn't let us go anywhere."

James knocked on Dumbledore's office door. "Five galleons I'm right," James challenged.

Dumbledore's "Come in," floated through the door and Lily shook James' hand. "You're on."

"Good morning, sir," Lily said as she walked up to his desk.

"Good morning, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter. Have a seat," He gestured to the two chairs in front of him and they sat.

"Now, due to the increase in Death Eater attacks, I am worried that they will soon try and enter the school," Dumbledore stated.

James' brow furrowed. "Why would the Death Eaters want to get into Hogwarts?"

"Power, recruitment, there are many reasons, each more frightening than the next," Dumbledore said plainly.

"What do you need us to do?" Lily asked quietly.

"Simply patrol outside the castle as well as inside once a week, and check the secret passages, too, to see if they have signs of being used recently. I think that should suffice," He looked at them with his peircing blue eyes and the Head Boy and Girl nodded their heads. "Good. Now, you two should be getting to class."

"Yes, sir," they murmured.

Lily and James walked back down the stairs and past the gargoyle, making their way to Charms.

"Wow... Death Eaters in Hogwarts," James finally said.

"There kind of already are Death Eaters here, with the Slytherins," Lily pointed out.

"True. Do you want to patrol outside tonight?"

"Sure, we can do it every Friday," said Lily as they reached the Charms classroom door.

QK

That night, James and Lily left the common room and headed to the front doors.

Stepping out of the castle, a light breeze washed over them from across the lake. It was already dark out, and James lit his wand as they walked towards Hagrid's cabin.

"So," James said suddenly. "Merlin's beard. What's so special about it? Just because it was on Merlin's face doesn't mean it's so great. If it was on anybody else's face, it would just be a beard."

"I don't think Merlin even had a beard," Lily mused. "In all the books I've read about him, they never say he had a beard."

James frowned. "Well, now wizards seem kind of silly."

Lily laughed. They walked in silence for a bit more and passed one of the small cliffs on the Hogwarts landscape. There was a small whimpering and Lily stopped.

"Was that you?" she asked James. He stopped too and looked at her.

"What?" The sound came again and Lily looked around.

"There it was again!" Lily caught the movement of a dark shape out of the corner of her eye and she pulled her wand out. It was gone.

James looked towards the small cliff and saw a small figure sitting at the bottom of it.

"Lils," he whispered as he moved towards it with his wand out. They approached it carefully and the light from their wands fell upon a small child's tear streaked face.

"Hey, sweetie," James said in a soothing voice as he lowered his wand and crouched down next to her. "What are you doing out here?"

She whimpered again and buried her head in her arms. Lily sat down next to her and put her hand on her small back.

"It's okay, sweetie," Lily said in a calming voice. "Can you tell us your name?"

The little girl's ginger hair swished as she shook her head.

"Well, okay. I'm Lily and this is James. We're Head Boy and Girl and we help keep people safe at the school," Lily exchanged a worried glance with James over the top of the child's head.

The girl finally looked up at Lily with teary hazel eyes. "I think my name's Emily," she whispered.

"Alright, Emily," James said. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Emily shook her head. "No... I can't remember much, though."

He stroked Emily's hair. "That's okay, sweetie. Do you want to come up to the castle for some hot chocolate? Lily and I need to talk to our headmaster."

She looked up at him: their hazel eyes connected so Emily could see the trust and safety in his face. Slowly she nodded and he helped her off the ground. Once standing, they could see she was about four and wearing dirty muggle clothing.

"Do you think you can walk up there?" James asked Emily concernedly, for she looked weak, and it was a bit of a walk.

"I don't know... my legs hurt," The three looked down at Emily's legs and lily and James saw there were cuts and bruises on them.

"That's okay, I can carry you," James offered. She held her arms up for him and he scooped her up easily.

"Do you like hot chocolate, Emily?" Lily asked as they walked towards the castle.

"Yeah, but I like butterbeer better," Emily said in a small voice. "Do you guys have house elves?"

Lily breathed an inaudible sigh of relief; she was worried Emily was a muggle.

"Yeah, we do," James answered. "There's this one, Violet, and she's my favorite."

"Does she give you whatever you want?" Emily asked.

"Yup, whatever my friends and I ask for."

"Can we get some butterbeer before we see the headmaster?"

"Sure," James and Lily responded. They entered the castle and headed towards the kitchens while Emily looked around in wonder.

James tickled the pear and Emily peered into the kitchens curiously. House elves were bustling around, preparing food and gathering cleaning bounded up to them.

"Good evening, master and misses!"

"Hey, Violet," James said. "How are you today?"

"Violet is doing very well, sir. How is you?"

"I'm good, Violet, thanks. Can you get Emily here a butterbeer and maybe a few of those brownies from dinner?"

"Yes, Master James!" Violet scurried away from them and Lily looked at James disprovingly.

"She shouldn't be eating sweets, she needs real food."

Emily looked at Lily. "But I like brownies."

James laughed. "Yeah, Lily, she likes brownies."

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless and Violet came back with a bottle of butterbeer and a few brownies wrapped in a napkin.

"There you are, master and misses!"

"Thank you, Violet," Lily said.

They left the kitchens and went up the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

"Is the headmaster nice?" Emily asked, taking abite of brownie.

"Yeah, he is," James answered. "Even when you mess up, he always tries to find the good in it."

"Sugar quills," Lily said to the gargoyle. It jumped aside and Lily, James, and Emily walked up the spiraled staircase. The Heads looked at each other worriedly; they weren't sure how Dumbledore would handle the situation. Should they have brought Emily into the castle? She certainly didn't seem like a threat, or a ploy of Voldemort's, but in these time, even the simplest little things could be evil.

James knocked on Dumbledore's door and they waited with bated breaths.

"Come in!" said Dumbledore. Lily walked in.

"Hello, Professor. Um, James and I came across something on patrol."

"Yes? What is it?"

James stepped into the room with Emily.

Dumbledore's eyes widened and he walked around the desk towards them.

"Oh, my. And how did you find her?" Emily wrapped her arms around James' neck, uncomfortable under Dumbledore's gaze. James patted her back and spoke.

"Lily and I were walking towards the Forbidden Forest and we heard Emily crying. We looked around and saw her at the bottom of one of the small cliffs, so it was hard to see her. We asked her why she was there, and how she got here, but she doesn't seem to remember. She told us her name, though, Emily."

Dumbledore nodded, still staring at Emily and thinking. "Put her down, James."

He gently set her down and Emily moved to stand between James and Lily. Dumbledore knelt down so he was eye level with her. Emily grasped Lily's hand hard.

"Do you remember how you got here?"

She shook her head. "I remember a man coming to my house, and then I was here."

"What did the man look like?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Was anyone with you at the house?"

"I can't remember."

"Can you remember anything else? Your last name, your favorite food?"

"Rochester... I think. And pudding."

Dumbledore stood up and looked at Lily and James.

"Someone put a powerful Memory Charm on her. I would remove it, but she may be happier... and safer not knowing."

"Where is she going to go, sir?" Lily asked.

"Well, we could send her to one of the wizarding orphanages-"

"Sir, I think she'd be better off here," James cut in.

"Alright, she can stay in the Hospital WIng-"

"I want to stay with Lily and James," Emily said.

"Yeah, she could stay in the Head dormitory with us; it wouldn't be a problem," James said quickly and Lily nodded.

Dumbledore looked down at Emily. "Is that what you'd like to do Emily?"

She nodded, her ginger hair bouncing. "Yes, please."

"Very well. I'll be by in the morning to make some changes to the place," he said. "But first I think she should go to the hospital wing, just to make sure she's not hurt."

Lily and James nodded and Lily picked up Emily. "Thank you sir. Good night."

They made their way back down the stairs and Emily looked at Lily. "I get to live with you?"

Lily smiled. "Yup. But we have to go to the Hospital Wing first and Madam Pomfrey will probably make you stay overnight."

Emily frowned. "I don't like hospitals. They're boring."

James laughed and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, I know what you mean, kid."

"It'll be fine," Lily assured her. "And tomorrow, you can meet our friends."

"Let's take her to see Hagrid too!" James said excitedly.

"Who's Hagrid?"

"He's the gamekeeper here and a half giant," Lily explained. "He's really nice."

"Is he tall?" asked Emily in wonder.

James and Lily laughed.

"Yeah, he's tall," said Lily. "James' head barely gets past his elbow."

"Wow, that is big," she said.

"But never eat anything he bakes," James advised. "He's a terrible cook."

Emily laughed and they entered the hospital wing.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Lily called. The nurse came bustling out of her office, still in her uniform.

"What do we have here?" she asked.

"We found her out on the grounds and Professor Dumbledore wanted you to make sure she wasn't hurt or anything," James explained.

"Ah, yes, set her down," Madam Pomfrey motioned to a bed and Lily set her down. She waved her wand over her and tapped Emily in random places. After a few moments, she stepped back and looked at Lily and James.

"Just exhaustion and deydration, plus a few cuts and bruises, but she should stay here overnight. "

Lily looked to Emily. "We'll be back in the morning, okay?"

Emily grabbed her hand. "But I'll be bored!"

James' eyes lightened with an idea. "I'll be right back. Lil, you stay here."

He ran out of the Hospital Wing and took a shortcut to the seventh floor. Stopping in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, James paced back in forth in front of the blank wall, thinking, **I need things to entertain a four yeaar old, I need things to entertain a four year old, I need things to entertain a four year old.**

The door appeared and James opened it. Inside was a roomful of toy wands, books, baby dolls, and stuffed animals. He grabbed a toy wand, some books, a doll, and a few animals before running back to the hospital wing.

He entered and Emily's face lit up in delight upon seeing the toys in James' arms. Lily smiled and helped him spread out everything around Emily on the bed. Emily picked up the baby and cradled it in her arms.

"You still have to get some rest tonight," Lily reminded her.

Emily continued to stare at the baby. "I'm gonna name her Charlie," she said adoringly.

James smiled and patted her small leg. "We'll be back in the morning, okay Emily?"

She looked up at them. "Okay. Goodnight!"

"Don't let the bedbugs bite!" James and Lily said in unison and Emily giggled.

"She's cute," James said as they walked back to the Heads' dorms.

Lily smiled. "Yeah, she is," Her smile turned into a frown. "You don't think she has anything to do with Voldemort, do you? I mean, she shows up the night Dumbledore asks us to patrol outside in case of Death Eaters. Doesn't it just seem odd?"

"Lils, relax," James said and he put his arm around her. "She's a four year old porcelain doll with red hair who like butterbeer, brownies, and baby dolls. How harmful can she be?"

"I'm not saying Emily specifically is harmful, but someone could be manipulating her. And you know I don't believe in coincidences, so it's just all to strange that-"

"Lily! Stop worrying!" he laughed. They came to the portrait hole and gave the password. "Dumbledore checked her out, there's nothing Dark about her. And maybe we're meant to take care of Emily. Just think of how she could change our lives," He stopped in front of Lily's door and held her shoulders to face him. "I have no bad qualms about this. I doubt Dumbledore has any, or he wouldn't have let Emily move in here. So go to bed, and we'll pick up our ball of sunshine in the morning."

He kissed her forehead and turned to leave, and Lily called after him, teasing.

"Since when do you use fancy words like qualms?"

**A/N: This chapter was particularly frusterating to write, and I still don't like most of it. Please, PLEASE review and tell me what you think! Reviews= Happy Me= Quicker updates!**


	6. Chapter 6

Lily was awoken in the morning by a jet of cold water in her ear. She screamed and flipped over in her bed. James plopped down next to her and smiled cheerily.

"Oh, good, you're up," he said. Lily reached out to slap him, but he rolled off the bed, out of reach. "We've got to get Emily!" he yelled as he bounded out of the room.

Lily groaned and reluctantly got out of bed, knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, and Emily was indeed waiting for them. She slowly dressed with her eyes half opened and it wasn't until she was nearly ready that she glanced at the clock.

"Bloody hell, James!" she screeched. "It's only bloody nine o' clock!"

Lily left the bathroom and saw him sitting in the common room, reading a book, and looking like he was bracing himself for her wrath. She pointed her wand at him, said a nonverbal spell, and watched with satisfaction as gold birds pecked at the offending Head Boy.

"Ow! Lily! I just- I didn't want to wait! Ouch- Lils! Gerremoffme!" His limbs were flailing in every direction and was looking quite ridiculous, so Lily Vanished the birds. He looked up at her guiltily.

"I just wanted to get a head start," James said innocently. Lily's eyes narrowed and she went down the steps slowly and dramatically.

"Look. On school days, I am a morning person. I function nicely because I have a reason and time limit. But on weekends, I like my sleep. So if you _ever_ wake me up early on the weekend again, I _will_ cut your balls off. Okay?" She reached him and crossed her arms. He nodded, thoroughly scared of the small redhead now.

Lily nodded, satisfied. "Good. Let's go get Emily now."

She walked out of the portrait hole and James followed meekly.

When they were almost to the hospital wing, Lily broke the silence. "You may speak now."

"I'm sorry, Lily," James said immediately, giving her a puppy dog look.

She looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But don't do it again," Lily hugged him and cursed her inability to hold grudges.

James opened the hospital wing door for her and they saw Emily sitting on her bed with her baby, Charlie, in her lap, and making sparks come out of her toy wand.

"Hey, Emily," James said as he and Lily reached. She looked up.

"Hi!" Emily said happily. "Charlie likes pink sparkles better than yellow sparkles," she said in a matter of fact tone.

"Is pink Charlie's favorite color?" Lily asked.

Emily nodded. "Uh-huh. Can we go now?"

Lily and James laughed. "Sure, we just need to tell Madam Pomfrey."

"And guess what we're going to do today!" exclaimed James as Emily climbed out of bed.

"Play with unicorns!" she declared.

"Er… no. Dumbledore's going to come by and fix up your room and then you get to hang out with the Marauders!" James said as if that was a real treat.

"What are the Marauders?" Emily asked as if the name was quite ridiculous.

James gasped and put his hand to his chest in mock shock. "The Marauders are only the coolest kids in the whole entire school! And the handsomest," he added to Lily, who was returning with Madam Pomfrey. She laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Just keep telling yourself that, Jamesie."

Madam Pomfrey checked Emily over and nodded as she was deemed fine. The matron pulled out some clothes from the bedside cabinet and placed them on the bed.

"I took the liberty of transfiguring some things into clothes for her so she won't have to wear those ratty muggle things. Well, she can go," Madam Pomfrey patted the stack of clothes and hurried off to care for a boy with boils on his arm.

"Come on, let's go!" James said, jumping around. Lily rolled her eyes.

"James, she can't go out in her pajamas. Why don't you wake up the boys and have them get the girls up while I help Emily get dressed?" Lily pushed him away and closed the curtains around Emily's bed.

"Okay, what do you want to wear?" she asked brightly. Emily looked at the clothes, her face screwed up in thought.

"I want to wear… this!" She pulled out a flowing pale yellow shirt with spaghetti straps and forest green shorts.

"Very pretty," Lily approved. "Here, let me help you," She waved hr wand and the clothes appeared on Emily's body.

"Awesome," said Lily. "Do you want me to do your hair?"

Emily clutched her hair and shook her head violently. "No, no! Don't brush it!"

"Okay," she said indifferently and pulled back the curtains to see James standing there expectantly.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yup. Did you get the boys up?"

They each took a hand of Emily's so she was walking in between them as the threesome left the Hospital Wing.

"Well, I woke up Sirius, and while he was yelling at me, Remus woke up, so he'll get Mary, Marlene, and Alice up."

Lily and James jumped a trick step and pulled Emily up after them, swinging her high. She giggled.

"Again!" she squealed.

They swing her up a few more steps and her peals of laughter rang throughout the empty passageway.

"Again!"

They made their way to Gryffindor Tower that way and Emily gave the password to the Fat Lady confidently. "Butternut!"

Entering the common room, they saw that no one else had entered it yet, so James, Lily, and Emily sat on the couch.

James looked at Lily thoughtfully.

"We should play a prank on them," he declared.

She glanced over at him. "What kind of prank?"

"I don't know. Something with Emily."

They looked at Emily, who was now styling Lily's hair. Lily's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"We could pretend she's biologically our daughter! She looks like us and we could say I had her in third year after some clandestine affair with you!" she giggled. " Can you imagine what they would do?"

James doubled over in laughter at imagining their friends' faces. "What do you say, Emily? Will you do it?"

"Okay," she agreed happily.

As if on cue, Remus, Sirius, Marlene, Mary, Alice, and Peter came down the stairs.

"Why is it so bloody important that we be down here so bloody early-" Sirius' grumbles stopped as he caught sight of Emily perched on Lily's hip. They all stared in bewilderment at Emily and James wrapped his arm around Lily's waist.

"Guys, there's something we've been meaning to tell you," James started with a grin.

"James and I have a daughter!" finished Lily with a smile to match James'.

Peter fainted and Sirius, Marlene, Alice, and Mary all yelled, "_What?"_ Remus was in shock.

"Lily, you were never even pregnant!" Alice exclaimed. "When did this ever happen?"

Lily looked up at James and almost let a giggle escape. Their friends' reactions were just as they imagined.

"Well, James and I had sort of a… clandestine meeting in third year. McGonagall and Flitwick charmed me to make it look like I was still normal sized."

"Hi," Emily said, smiling and waving at the shocked Gryffindors. Marlene clutched at Sirius' arm and James and Lily burst out laughing.

"Wait, so- she's not really yours?" Mary asked, still befuddled.

"No!" said James, shaking his head. "We found her on the grounds during last night's patrol, and we get to take care of her. Come on, do you really think Lily would have gone into a broom cupboard with me in third year?"

"Maybe not back then," Marlene whispered and Sirius smirked.

"Hi," Alice said, walking up to Emily. "I'm Alice."

"Hi, Alice," she said shyly. "I'm Emily."

"You are adorable," Alice stated, smiling. Emily giggled.

"You look like a pixie," she said and Alice laughed.

"Thank you. That's what my boyfriend calls me."

Emily's eyes widened. "You have a _boyfriend?_"

Lily and Alice laughed again. "Yep. So does she," said Alice, pointing at Marlene, who had Sirius' arm draped around her.

"You _both_ have boyfriends?" Emily asked incredulously. Marlene and Mary laughed and walked over to them.

"Yup," said Marlene. "But mine's a bit of an idiot sometimes. See? He's the one with th funny looking hair."

Sirius looked up from where he was drawing on Peter's face. "Oi! My hair is not funny looking!" he walked over to the girls and crossed his arms.

"Oh, yes it is, Padfoot," said James said, messing up his best friend's hair. Sirius hit him and fixed his hair. "Come on, Emmy. Who do you think has the best hair?"

"Alice," she said immediately. Alice smiled happily and stuck her tongue out at the boys.

"But you have sparkly hair," Emily continued, reaching out and fluffing Sirius' hair. "And yours is nice and soft," She ran her hand through James' mop. "And his is fluffy, with a pretty swoop," She pointed to Remus, who was trying to wake Peter up. Remus looked up and walked over to them with a smile.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Remus."

"I'm Emily, " She smiled, then turned to Lily. "I'm hungry."

Sirius brandished an invisible sword and took a knight's stance. "Then to breakfast we go, dear Emily!"

Emily laughed and Lily set her on the ground. Sirius and Emily then ran off towards the Great Hall, hand in hand.

"I never knew he was so good with children," Marlene observed thoughtfully.

"Probably because he still _is_ a child," said James, rolling his eyes. "Oi, Wormtail! Breakfast!"

Peter's eyes fluttered open and he sat up. "What happened?"

"We told you Lily and I had a daughter and you fainted. Come on, breakfast!" He grabbed Lily and Alice and ran out of the portrait hole.

Mary smiled at Remus. "Come on, Remus. I need an escort to breakfast."

He held out his arm and walked out of the common room together, leaving Marlene to deal with Peter.

Come on, Petey. Let's go to breakfast," She helped him off the floor and he looked at her through watery blue eyes.

"Lily and James have a kid?" he squeaked.

Marlene sighed and put her arm around his shoulders. "No, Peter…"

QK

James, Lily, and Alice walked into the Great Hall to see Sirius entertaining Emily by doing his best impression of aquatic sea animals.

"Arf, arf, arf, arf!" he barked, clapping the back of his hands together. Emily laughed and threw half of a biscuit at him, which he caught in his mouth.

"Having fun, Sirius?" Alice asked as she sat on the other side of Emily.

"Don't get him too excited, Emily, he's not house-trained yet," said James, sitting on the other side of the table with Lily.

"He's a good seal!" Emily proclaimed, petting Sirius' hair. She turned to Lily and James. "Guess how we got here!"

"Umm… You skipped," Lily guessed.

"No! Sirius turned the stairs into slides!"

"Really?" James asked. "All of them?"

"Yup," Emily nodded. "But he had to change them back because he said Lily would eat him if he didn't."

Lily kicked Sirius under the table and James nodded.

"It's true," he said. "She'll also eat you if you wake her up early on weekends. Unless, of course, you have the stunning Potter charm and looks," He flung his head to the side dramatically.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're still off the hook for that, you know."

"Yes, I am. You may still get mad when reminded of it, but you'll never do anything because you love me too much," said James, putting his arm around her and smiling cheekily. Lily stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms as Marlene and Peter sat down next to them. Peter eyed Emily warily and she waved at him merrily.

"Hi. I'm Emily. Did it hurt when you fell?"

Peter shifted uncomfortably. "Erm… no. It happens a lot."

"Aw, it's okay, Peter," said Mary, who had just arrived with Remus.

"So, we visiting Hagrid today?" James asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I want to meet him!" said Emily, nodding excitedly. "Lily told me he's really tall," she added to Alice.

Alice smiled. "Yes, he's very tall. But I can't go," she told the others. "Frank's doing something special for me for our anniversary."

"Aww," Lily said. "How long has it been?"

"A year," Alice gushed.

"Aww," Marlene, Lily, and Mary cooed. Alice sighed dreamily.

"So, visiting Hagrid?" Sirius asked loudly, rolling his eyes at the girls' mushiness.

QK

After breakfast, James, Emily, Lily, Sirius, Marlene, Remus, Peter, and Mary all left the castle and went towards Hagrid's hut.

"Well, 'ello!" he said merrily upon seeing them all. "Come on in!" The Gryffindors and Emily entered the hut and sat down at the table and armchairs.

"Why, who's this?" Hagrid asked upon seeing Emily perched on Lily's lap.

"Hagrid, this is Emily. Emily, Hagrid. Lily and I found her on the grounds last night," James answered.

"Well, 'ello Emily," he said cheerily. "Treacle fudge?" He held the tray out to her.

"Oh, no thanks, Hagrid, we just had breakfast," Lily said hastily.

"Hey Hagrid, weren't some baby thestrals just born?" asked Sirius eagerly.

Hagrid nodded. "Yep, two girls. Named 'em Shelly an' Amber."

"Aw," said Marlene. "Do you think Professor Kettleburn will show them to us?"

"Well, I hope so," Hagrid answered. "If it was me, I'd'a shown ye a long time ago. Dead useful, them creatures are."

"I always try and give them an apple whenever I see them," said Remus. "They're actually quite friendly."

"What do they look like?" asked Mary. "I can't see them."

James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily all thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to describe the creature.

"Kind of like the skeleton of a winged horse, but all black," James finally said.

"Some people think ter bad luck," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "Codswallop. A unicorn's more'n a threat than a thestrals."

"You've seen unicorns?" Emily asked curiously.

"Yep, got a nice right herd of 'em in the forest. Find ter hair everywhere."

"Can you show them to me?" asked Emily.

"Come back at twilight one night. Ter more agreeable with me then," Hagrid promised.

They stayed until lunchtime, chatting with Hagrid, until the boys' stomachs started to growl loudly and they returned to the castle.

QK

That night, James, Lily, and Emily bid goodnight to the other Gryffindors and entered the Heads' dorm. Inside, there was a note floating in midair. James took it out of the air and read it.

"'Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, I inserted a room over the bathroom that you share and can be accessed through your closets, in which there is a door at the back. Try not to let Miss Stafford interfere with your studies and Head duties- Professor Dumbledore.' Cool. Do you want to check it out, Emmy?"

She nodded happily and bounded up Lily's stairs. Lily and James followed close behind and Lily opened her closet door. Behind the sparkling emerald green door in the back of the closet was another flight of stairs with butterflies on the walls.

The stairs opened to a dark purple room. A green, purple, and blue rug covered part of the hardwood floor in the middle of the room. There was another staircase opposite Lily's which they assumed led to James' closet. On the right end of the room was a large window and a bed in front of it, with a purple and green patchwork quilt. On one side of the bed was a rocking chair next to a bookcase, filled with children's stories; on the other side was a large dollhouse and a crib for Emily's baby doll. Facing the bed along the opposite wall was a small dresser with a mirror on top, next to a blue toy box that had butterflies on it, matching the ones fluttering on the walls.

Emily's face adorned a bright smile as she took Charlie over to the baby doll crib, tucking her in nicely.

"Do you like it, Emily?" Lily asked, sitting in the rocking chair. James perched on the bench at the end of the bed and they watched Emily flit about the room, inspecting everything.

"Oh, yes!" the small ginger exclaimed, pulling random books off the shelf and abandoning them on the floor as something else across the room caught her eye.

Soon, it looked as if a tornado had hit the room, and James and Lily were watching Emily play with her doll again, completely oblivious to everything else. Lily glanced up at the flower shaped clock and saw that it was eight o' clock.

"Come on, Emily, you need to take a bath," she said, standing up. Emily looked over her shoulder at her.

"Do I have to?" she asked innocently. Lily walked over to her and held out her hand.

"Yes, you do. But you know what we can do with your bath?"

"What?" asked Emily as the girls walked down James' staircase, which was identical to Lily's.

"We can make the water orange!" said Lily enthusiastically. They entered the bathroom and Lily started turning various knobs around the bathtub.

After Emily was washed and in her red ladybug pajamas, James tucked her into bed, Lily watching the pair from the doorway. He turned to leave, but Emily called him back.

"Wait! Can you tell me a story?" James looked into her large hazel eyes and melted. He walked over to the bookcase and looked for a book.

"You too!" Emily commanded Lily, patting the space behind her on the bed. She settled down on the bed and tucked Emily under her arm as they watched James take a book off the shelf.

"Okay," he said, sitting in the rocking chair and propping his feet upon the bed. "This is called 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune.'"

QK

James and Lily tiptoed downstairs and fell on James' bed. James sighed.

"That was a really long story," he stated. Lily looked at him.

"You do know that she fell asleep about two pages in, right?"

"What?" he yelped. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Shh," Lily chided. "You'll wake Emily up. And I wanted to hear the story."

"You've never heard it before?" asked James incredulously.

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, James. Muggleborn, remember?"

He frowned. "Oh, yeah. Where're you going?"

Lily was getting off the bed and heading for the door. "Transfiguration essay. You know, the one McGonagall assigned today while you and Sirius were playing Exploding Snap in the back?"

"So come do it in here," James offered. "I mean, I know how ghastly you are at Transfiguration, and me being a merciful Head Boy and a wonderful best friend, I am inclined to help you."

Lily stuck her tongue out at him and walked away.

"I suppose you're just as terrible at Potions," she said as she returned with her Transfiguration things.

"So- Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. What do you know about it?" Lily lay on her stomach with her hands under her chin and looked at James expectantly.

He stretched out on his back and ran his hand through his hair. "Well… I know that one point is that you can't conjure food out of thin air."

Lily jotted this down and looked back up at him. "Okay. Why?"

"I don't know. Something to do with it not being in the properties of magic or something."

Lily rolled her eyes and opened a text book.

They really meant to do their homework, but two hours later found Lily curled up in James' arms, both fast asleep.

**A/N: I am so sorry for the wait, but I sprained my wrist, which makes it difficult to write, and I've had TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) prep for the past few weeks. But I hope this 13 page chapter makes up for it ****J**** Remember to review! **


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